Follow Me on Pinterest

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

So I have a kid living with me who does not love vegetables. Am I the only one? The odd thing is though, when I make chicken pot pie, he will eat every single bite and go for seconds! That at least gives me something to work with since I'm a huge proponent of trying to get them to "eat the rainbow." Well on the particular day I made this soup, we found out on the morning news that we were going to be in for some nasty weather later in the evening. My kids decided that the evening meal needed to be some type of soup - their favorite rainy day food genre. When prompted on the kind of soup they wanted, my vege-phobe suggested, "make something new." Oh gosh... now the pressure is back on me! So this is what we came up with. 😀

We have a little joke between me and kids. When something is extraordinarily good (like Nutty Bars that I can't stay away from if they are in the house somewhere), I'll say "They are from the Devil!" So when I tasted the soup at the end and rolled my eyes ".... Mmmm," my little girl said "Is it from the Devil?" HaHa!!! 😂😂 Yes, it was that good. Mr. I-don't-like-veggies ate three bowls of it, and both of them took leftovers in a thermos to school the next day for lunch. Needless to say, this easy soup recipe will definitely be on the list of rainy day favorites for us!

Bring the soup to a simmer (NOT boil), stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking or scorching on the bottom of the pot. Continue on simmer until the potatoes are fork tender (about 10-15 minutes).

Once the potatoes are fork tender, add in the 3 cups of cooked chicken. We didn't want to add it before now because we wanted to avoid it: a) drying out, and b) shredding.

3 cups cooked rotisserie chicken

Now add the 1 cup frozen corn and 1 cup frozen peas.

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

After adding the peas, adjust any seasonings and remove from heat. Stir in 1/4 cup sherry to finish the soup.

Bring the soup to a simmer (NOT boil), stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking or scorching on the bottom of the pot. Continue on simmer until the potatoes are fork tender (about 10-15 minutes).

Once the potatoes are fork tender, add in the 3 cups of cooked chicken. We didn't want to add it before now because we wanted to avoid it: a) drying out, and b) shredding.

Now add the 1 cup frozen corn and 1 cup frozen peas.

After adding the peas, adjust any seasonings and remove from heat. Stir in 1/4 cup sherry to finish the soup.

Monday, April 17, 2017

My family has always LOVED a good breakfast potato hash! I mean, what's not to love with onions, potatoes, sausage and good seasonings for breakfast, right?! But we all know that white potatoes are not the healthiest for us... so I decided to make a spicy version of a healthier sweet potato hash that would be somewhere between familiar, exotic, and WOW! Sweet potatoes rank #1 on the chart of healthy veggies. They are a complex carbohydrate that won't spike your blood sugar and they are loaded with antioxidants. As a bonus, this is Paleo friendly... if you're into that sort of thing.

This hash is super easy to throw together in the morning and is just perfect for those leftover roasted sweet potatoes you have in the fridge from last night's dinner. Use your favorite sausage or turkey sausage and "bam," breakfast is made! - and don't most of us have a great little black iron skillet in the bottom of a drawer somewhere that needs some love?

This is sort of a throw-it-all-in-there recipe. Not an exact measurement recipe. So you'll have to forgive the lack of specific measurements. Have more peeps... use more stuff.

Half link of andouille sausage

handful of chopped onions

Water as needed (maybe 1/2 cup)

Leftover roasted sweet potato slices (about 1 cup or so)

1 tsp Sambal Oelek (spicy Thai chili paste)

1 or 2 large eggs

Fresh parsley or cilantro, rough chopped

crushed red pepper flakes

Step-by-step photos:

There really is no trick to making a hash. So I'm going to "pretend" I did something spectacular here. Pull out your (fully cooked) meat of choice. I used a jalapeño green onion flavored andouille sausage. Chorizo would work great. If you don't have a black iron skillet, use something heavy so you can get some good color on all of this.

I'm not going to add ANY extra oil in this recipe. Stick with me here. Cook the sausage until it's on it's way to getting brown, but not dry. Just a little color.

about 6" of smoked sausage

Add in a good handful of chopped onions. I always keep a bag of chopped onions in the freezer for fast meal prep. As an additional perk, the frozen onions break down faster than the fresh ones.

~ 1/3 cup onion

Since I'm not adding any oil to sauté the onions, I'm going to deglaze the pan with a couple ounces of water. As the water cooks out, I kept adding a couple ounces at a time until my onions were nice and soft and translucent.

Add water to the pan to help the onions cook without having to add oil

When the onions are mostly cooked, add in about 1 - 1 1/2 cup leftover roasted sweet potatoes. (These were straight from the fridge and had been roasted with EVOO, salt and pepper.) If you need to use raw potatoes, you could peel, cut, and microwave them until fairly tender. before adding them. *Don't forget to adjust the seasonings.

To get this spicy party started (on top of my jalapeño sausage), I'm going to add 1 tsp of the Thai chili paste Sambal Oelek. You can add a different hot sauce if you'd prefer, but I like the flavors and acidity in this one a great deal. Look for it in the Asian isle of your supermarket.

1 tsp Sambal Oelek

When things are pretty much all cooked and seasoned to my liking, I'm going to add the finishing touches. First, make a hole (or two) in the hash, and break your egg(s) right into the skillet very gently being careful not to break the yolk.

1 or 2 large eggs cooking right in the middle of the hash

While we wait for the egg white(s) to set, sprinkle the top of the hash with some fresh parsley and crushed red pepper flakes. Turn off the heat when the egg white is set and the yolk is still soft and runny. The richness of the yolk complements the starchy potatoes and the spicy sausage. The fresh herbs bring a bright, fresh element to the dish. *Of course, if you'd like yours cooked longer, by all means, go ahead.

fresh parsley to garnish

Now go out and have breakfast on the back porch and watch the world wake up. With this hearty and healthy breakfast, you will be ready to go out and conquer whatever the day will bring!

I hope you've enjoyed this awesome (and healthy) breakfast recipe! Scroll all the way down for the written method.

There really is no trick to making a hash. So I'm going to "pretend" I did something spectacular here. Pull out your meat of choice. I used a jalapeño green onion flavored andouille sausage. Chorizo would work great. If you don't have a black iron skillet, use something heavy so you can get some good color on all of this.

I'm not going to add ANY extra oil in this recipe. Cook the sausage until it's on it's way to getting brown, but not dry. Just a little color.

Add in a good handful of chopped onions. I always keep a bag of chopped onions in the freezer for fast meal prep. As an additional perk, the frozen onions break down faster than the fresh ones.

Since I'm not adding any oil to sauté the onions, I'm going to deglaze the pan with a couple ounces of water. As the water cooks out, I kept adding a couple ounces at a time until my onions were nice and soft and translucent.

When the onions are mostly cooked, add in about 1 - 1 1/2 cup leftover roasted sweet potatoes. (These were straight from the fridge and had been roasted with EVOO, salt and pepper.) If you need to use raw potatoes, you could peel, cut, and microwave them until fairly tender. before adding them. *Don't forget to adjust the seasonings.

To get this spicy party started, add 1 tsp of the Thai chili paste Sambal Oelek. You can add a different hot sauce if you'd prefer, but I like the flavors and acidity in this one a great deal.

When things are pretty much all cooked and seasoned to my liking, I'm going to add the finishing touches. First, make a hole (or two) in the hash, and break your egg(s) right into the skillet very gently being careful not to break the yolk.

While we wait for the egg white(s) to set, sprinkle the top of the hash with some fresh parsley and crushed red pepper flakes. Turn off the heat when the egg white is set and the yolk is still soft and runny. The richness of the yolk complements the starchy potatoes and the spicy sausage.

Now go out and have breakfast on the back porch and watch the world wake up. With this hearty and healthy breakfast, you will be ready to go out and conquer whatever the day will bring!

Saturday, April 15, 2017

So yes, there are absolutely a ton of ways to make make cobblers, crisps, buckles, Brown Betty's and the like. Maybe they've been so popular for a gazillion years because they are super comforting, super versatile, require few ingredients, and above all, super easy! I mean let's face it, if you can just dump a few pantry ingredients together and throw the dish in the oven while dinner is being made and have something that warms everyone's hearts like this... then what's not to love?

This recipe is no exception. You can use the frozen fruit of your choice to whip up something so homey and comforting that even the most novice of cooks will appear to be a seasoned baker. This berry crisp dump cake is just perfect for times when you have unexpected guests, occasions when you need to bring a dish over for someone, or just a super easy weeknight dessert for the people you cherish the most - your family.

Evenly distribute the contents of 1 box of yellow cake mix over the top of the berries.

1 box yellow cake mix

In a small bowl, mix together 1/3 cup rolled oats and 1/3 cup finely chopped pecans.

1/3 cup rolled or quick oats

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Add the oat/nut mixture to the top of the cake mix.

Oats/nuts

Top the oat/nut mixture with 1 cup melted butter, distributed evenly.

1 cup (16 Tbsp) melted butter

Now our little crisp is ready to pop into our preheated 350F oven until the filling is firm and the topping is golden brown and delicious! Depending on your oven, this may take anywhere from about 55 min - 70 min or so.

Berry crisp dump cake after baking

After removing the crisp from the oven, allow it to sit about five minutes or so while you find something lovely to serve it with - like vanilla ice cream, or whipped topping. :)

I personally think this is a dessert best served warm. Mmmm.

5-Ingredient Berry Crisp Dump Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

I hope you've enjoyed this super easy and delicious recipe! Scroll down for the written directions and some more great recipes. Here are some bonus recipes:Easy Cajun Chicken Pasta Bake - Great for a crowd (or a house full of teenagers and their friends). Good way to stretch your budget!

About Me

I am a prototypical modern American mom. I am retired professor of Anatomy & Physiology at a private Christian University, and mother to four beautiful children (3 boys and 1 girl). I am also a food blogger, cookbook author, and have owned my own cafe. My background is a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience with emphasis on antioxidant research. My postdoctoral training was in human obesity and caloric restriction.

I grew up in South Louisiana where the best food in the world is routinely brought from the garden and the water, and put on the table. Everyone in my family of origin is a wonderful cook, so I guess it is just natural that I show my love to my family through food.

I love cooking and eating... and teaching my children the art and techniques of being in the kitchen. My mother taught me that there is always SOME part of the cooking process that even small children can help with...so my kids are indeed very familiar with the kitchen, the kitchen tools, use of homegrown herbs, etc.